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Rooney: President Obama’s “Groundhog Day Budget”

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Tom Rooney (FL-17), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the budget proposal released today by President Obama:

“Releasing the President’s budget on Groundhog Day is fitting, since it contains the same failed, rejected ideas we’ve heard from him over and over – higher taxes and greater debt to finance more spending and new entitlements.

“Instead of increasing taxes and hamstringing our economic recovery, we need to fix the broken tax code so middle class families can keep more of what they earn. Rather than using the budget as a blunt tool for top-down income redistribution, we need to promote bottom-up economic growth that empowers American small business, entrepreneurs and workers. The President’s wish list piles on new spending and leaves our children to pay the bill; I believe we need a budget that balances. He ignores Social Security and Medicare, but we need real reform or these programs won’t exist for future generations of Americans.

Key Facts in the President's FY 2016 Budget, courtesy of the House and Senate Budget Committees:

Tax Increases
• Despite $2.1 trillion in new tax increases, President Obama’s budget never balances—ever.
• Major proposed tax increases include higher levies on savings and investment, small businesses, and increases in the costs of hiring workers.
• These tax hikes would stunt the economic growth needed to get Americans back to work, and come on top of $1.7 trillion in tax hikes already imposed by this Administration.

Spending Increases
• The President’s budget increases annually-appropriated spending for next year by $74 billion relative to current law. Over 5 years, he would increase such spending by $322 billion.
• Next year alone, the President’s budget would grow total federal spending by $259 billion, or 7 percent.
• Total spending will increase by 65 percent ($2.4 trillion) in 10 years under the President’s plan.

Interest Costs Skyrocket
• President Obama’s plan more than triples interest costs, which remain the fastest growing item in the budget.
• Interest on the debt this year would be $229 billion, but would rise to $785 billion in 2025 under his plan.
• At the end of President’s plan, annual interest costs would be larger than his proposed spending for national defense, Medicaid or the combined total of all non-defense agency spending.

Debt Climbs
• Since 2009, we’ve added $7.5 trillion to the debt and spent $21.1 trillion.
• The President’s budget plan would add $8.5 trillion to the debt.
• Cumulative deficits would amount to $5.7 trillion, and gross debt would climb to $26.3 trillion in 2025.